


Basic training (and respect)

by MorganBartonRomanoff



Series: Natasha Romanov Bingo 2020 [6]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Melinda May, BAMF Natasha Romanov, First Meetings, Gen, Marvel Cameos, Natasha Romanov Joins SHIELD, Pre-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Pre-Canon, Strike Team Delta, Training, early shield days, recruit training, surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:14:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24605275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganBartonRomanoff/pseuds/MorganBartonRomanoff
Summary: Bored out of her mind, Natasha wanders into the closest training room. She doesn't expect to end up co-teaching the newest recruits martial arts moves, or respect. She ends up doing just that, and meets a new friend along the way.Part Six of my Natasha Romanov Bingo; Square filled - Boredom
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Melinda May & Natasha Romanov, Phil Coulson & Melinda May
Series: Natasha Romanov Bingo 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653973
Comments: 12
Kudos: 58
Collections: Natasha Bingo





	Basic training (and respect)

**Author's Note:**

> You guys have no idea how self-indulgent this idea is. I've had it outlined for over a week but it somehow took way too long to become coherent text. I've always wanted to read about Natasha and/or Clint teaching the new kids how it's done but, unfortunately, I haven't really seen any...
> 
> (If you have any recommendations, pretty please don't hesitate to hit me up!)
> 
> Thank you to [daisylincs](https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/daisylincs) for pushing me to finish this, possibly without realising it. You're a true gem <3
> 
> Written for the Natasha Romanov Bingo 2020 by [natasharomanovbingo](https://natasharomanovbingo.tumblr.com).

She’d never felt that way before. Never felt an emptiness like that.

Back in the Red Room, she had always had something to do, something to think about, something to learn. There was no peace in Russia, not really, not for her. Her instructors had always demanded she improve herself in some aspect, or kept her on her toes in more ways than she could imagine. She’d gotten a lot of injuries because of that.

And never in her life before had she felt... _bored_.

Without Barton around, she was left to her own devices, to her own thought and memories, as foggy as those were. She was left to entertain herself and she was quickly learning that she kind of sucked at that.

She’d never known anything other than discipline and training and… training. That was it.

Natasha changed in her workout clothes and grabbed a bottle of water, and then she was out the door.

Logically, she was aware there was more than one gym. Logically, she knew she could just turn around and go to one of the others. Still, she couldn’t feel a tang of disappointment at the fact that it seemed oddly… overcrowded in there.

A group of dozen or so, similarly dressed, differing in age and appearance stood before a short asian woman, perhaps in her forties. Natasha halted, curiosity getting the better of her. The woman had her arms behind her back, stance relaxed but grounded, barking orders at what the Russian assumed were fresh recruits. They were going through simple drills, beginner stances. Natasha caught the instructor’s eyes and turned around to leave, when the woman called for her ‘class’ to take five. That’s what Barton called the rookies – class. 

She cornered the former Red Room spy at the door, a look of determination shining in her eyes.

“You’re Romanov, right?” Natasha nodded, stuck between annoyance and intrigue. What could the woman possibly want from her? She’d heard the whispers throughout the hallways, she’d noticed the stares. They all avoided her as if she was contagious. “Your reputation precedes you.”

Natasha took in the woman – as short as her, dark hair loose around her face, face set in stone. She was a woman in charge, alright, the question was how in charge she actually was.

“I’m afraid I can’t say the same,” the redhead answered, head tilted but voice flat. The older agent smirked.

“Melinda May,” she introduced herself and extended a palm. “It’s a pleasure.” The Russian pondered over these words as she shook her hand. A pleasure? Was it really, or was that just a formality, a meaningless expression? “I assume you wanted to get in some training?”

It would be hard to get rid of the paranoia, Natasha knew that, and it would probably never go away entirely. To be honest, she wasn’t sure she wanted it to. After all, that was the only thing keeping her alive most of the time. Well, that and her own skills. But she needed to learn to trust people, maybe not entirely, but enough to stop suspecting everyone in her vicinity of ill intentions.

Still, she hadn’t reach that mindset yet. The woman – May – nodded instead of her. “I could use some help,” she admitted. That piqued Natasha’s interest. How could  _she_ of all people be helpful? “The newest group lacks discipline and respect,” May continued. “They think I’m not good enough of an instructor just because I’m a woman.” 

The redhead clenched her jaw. She knew all about the misogyny in their line of work, she’d grown up with it, and in the end she’d proved them all wrong, either by demonstration, or… well,  _demonstration_ .

“They need to learn a lesson,” the brunette stated. “And I think you’d be the perfect example.” A smirk curved at Natasha’s lips. 

Whenever she’d been made an example of in the Red Room, someone had ended up maimed, hurt, discarded, more than once even killed. Barton had promised her S.H.I.E.L.D. was different. Maybe this time she’d like being the exemplary student.

They walked back in, Natasha following the woman’s every move out of the corner of her eye just in case. She saw a muscle in her jaw tick, understandably so. Half of her ‘class’ were huddled on a bench, laughter booming across the entire training area, like they had no care in the world. Of course they weren’t taking this seriously.

The moment someone noticed the short woman, half of them were scrambling to take their places back on the mats while the other half were taking their sweet time. Natasha catalogued their faces. If by any lucky star they moved on higher up in the ranks, she wanted to remember whose ass she could kick without feeling bad afterwards.

“This is agent Romanov,” May introduced her. The redhead made no move to acknowledge that, but instead met the eyes of each and every one, enjoying how sooner or later they all looked away. “She’ll be assisting me in this lesson that’s so hard for you to grasp.”

Natasha decided then, she liked Melinda May. She probably wouldn’t have, had she been on the other end of her stare, but as things stood now, the woman was turning out to be impressive, entertaining, a more or less intimidating.

There was a scoff near the back of the group. She met his eyes. Average height, average build, about Barton’s age. Dark slicked-back hair and beady glass-blue eyes. Highly unimpressive.  Natasha turned to May.

“What is it they’re learning?”

“Defence techniques.” 

“Fun,” Natasha smirked and got into stance. The other woman ordered them to clear the space and followed suit. 

They took a moment to assess each other, to take into account any openings the other might have. Then May pounced. Her every move was calculated, precise, expert. Natasha kept up easily, but she was having a hard time getting the upper hand. They danced back and forth, switching between defence and offence. The older woman might have had more experience, but the Russian had been trained by the Red Room. Failure  had never been an option. That’s why  _she_ was the Black Widow. 

A flash of a familiar face in the background caught her attention and she let Barton’s stupid grin and bright eyes distract her for only a second. A second was enough for May to take the opportunity and knock her down.

Natasha rolled and sprang back to her feet, finding her partner in the crowd once more to glare at him.

It still caught her by surprise, how easily he could steal her attention, how easily she had _trusted_ him. Despite everything she’d been taught.

He had the audacity to smile wider, so she narrowed her eyes in a silent promise. He’d pay later, he knew it as well as she did. The redhead turned back to the audience.

“ _This_ is what hand-to-hand combat looks like. Not whatever cheap dance moves you’re trying to pull off,” May was saying, The man from before snorted, a mocking smirk plastered on his punchable face.

“I think they’d assimilate it better if it’s demonstrated by someone in their circle,” she mused, meeting the man’s eyes. “What do you say?”

They all followed her gaze, the  douchebag scoffing once more and confidently strutting to the front. 

He seemed to be the leader of the jackasses. She didn’t even know his name, but she didn’t need to. They were all the same. Perhaps taking him down without blinking would show the  rest they weren’t better than everyone else.  She could feel the glowering of his buddies on the back of her neck.  He and May switched places and  she nodded at them to begin with her arms crossed. Natasha could see Barton sit on the closest bench  next to their handler from the corner of her eye. 

For an asshole who thought her weaker than him, he didn’t extend her the courtesy of throwing the first punch. He launched himself at her, heavy on his feet. He favoured his right side, left his ribs unprotected, put too much weight on his right foot. Natasha dodged and shot out a jab to his side, then an elbow to his jaw, locking her foot behind his knee and jerking him forward until he dropped to the mat like a sack of potatoes.

May looked back at the others, mouth pinched in a disapproving frown.

“Who can tell me everything Dawson did wrong?” Two hands shot up immediately, and Natasha was both surprised and not to see they belonged to women. “Morse?”

“He underestimated her,” the woman – blonde, tall, beautiful, a dangerous combination for a spy – stated matter-of-factly. “And then there’s the problem of his poor coordination, his favouritism of his dominant side and his arrogance. And he also _underestimated_ her.”

“Excellent.” May’s lips twitched. Natasha decided she liked her, she liked both of them. The blonde, Morse, seemed more competent than most of the group. And for Natasha to conclude this, it meant something. The senior agent turned to her, an eyebrow raised. “One more?” At Natasha’s affirmative nod, she gestured for Morse to step forward.

S he was more calculating and cautious than the gorilla before her. She let Natasha strike first,  observed the way she moved. She wouldn’t find anything, though. The redhead threw a left hook and spun in a roundhouse kick when the woman sidestepped her. She caught herself making the same mistake – she was underestimating her opponent just because she considered herself superior.  So she changed her tactic.

Natasha allowed the other woman to switch into offence. She went for the Russian’s legs, which was interesting. Unfortunately for her, Natasha was light on her feet. She used to be one of twenty-eight ballerinas  with the Bolshoi . She used… did she? The  woman tried to surprise her with a blow to her head, but the Black Widow blocked, grabbed the same arm and turned her back to the woman’s front and pulled her over her shoulder. Morse grunted as she landed with a thud.

B arton whooped from his bench and, although she couldn’t see him, she was sure Coulson facepalmed at his antics. 

Natasha extended her hand to the rookie, who took it with a grateful smile.

“Good,” May nodded. “This was an excellent demonstration, thank you, Morse. Any more volunteers?” No one even moved, and Natasha allowed herself to smirk as she turned subtly towards her partner. Barton had his chin propped in his palm, grinning with what she assumed might be a proud glint in his eyes, something she was still unfamiliar with. “Thank you for your time, agent Romanov.”

The redhead knew a dismissal when she heard one, but she was surprised when Barton skipped past May with an uplifted greeting and a wave and headed straight for the Russian. “Let’s go spar, Nat,” he offered – he knew not to demand anything of her– and risked taking her hand to pull her after him. She followed after one last look at the two training officers now standing side to side.

Coulson smiled at his team, then turned to look at his former partner currently barking orders at her newest batch of trainees.

“They seemed terrified of her,” he noted. May snorted.

“As they should be. I’m surprised she let them off that easily, no damage, no blood. They’re going to be so irritating when they find out I put them up against the Black Widow.”

“They probably don’t even know she exists.” May shrugged.

“Word travels around fast here. I like her,” she asserted after a short pause. She shifted her attention from the rookies to the two agents sparring a few feet away. “They remind me of us,” she hummed.

Coulson chuckled. Natasha got Clint with a punch to his stomach. “I do remember you trying to kill me on several occasions, yes.”

May rolled her eyes fondly. “You’re getting dramatic there.” The redhead climbed on top of her partner’s shoulders to wrap her thighs around his head and pull him down. There was a collective gasp from the mostly distracted  newbies as they watched him struggle to escape her grasp and slap her leg in defeat. Coulson snickered next to a full-on smiling May.

“I remember that, too.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoyed this, and if you did, let me know by leaving a kudo or a comment! Each and every one matters to me! 
> 
> You can also check out my other fics if you're looking for more Clint and Natasha!
> 
> Find me on tumblr: [ohwriteiforgot](https://ohwriteiforgot.tumblr.com)


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